FCI continues to grow support

The newly formed Football Cook Islands group is continuing its work in improving football in the Cook Islands despite the group’s spokesperson Tony Jamieson being suspended by the Cook Islands Football Association (CIFA).

Football Cook Islands (FCI) would like to assure all the concerned football people who have expressed support for the group and its aims that FCI continues to work for the betterment of football in the Cook Islands.

A press release from the group says that they would like to try and work with CIFA to address the many issues that affect the beautiful game in the Cooks; however, FCI say that CIFA have instead suspended their spokesperson who is playing football for the Nikao Sokattak Football Club.

CIFA have also reported Jamieson to the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Ethics Committee and a hearing will be scheduled on the matter in the next few weeks.

As a result of this, Football Cook Islands has reluctantly decided to also raise a number of other matters with the OFC Ethics Committee.

These matters relate in the main, to the alleged poor governance of CIFA – the reason behind the breakaway of local footballers and the formation of Football Cook Islands.

FCI has been formed by a group of long term football supporters, players, qualified coaches and club officials based here in Rarotonga.

Most of the football clubs based on Rarotonga are represented in the group.

The new group say that publicity given by a previous CINews article (CINews Tuesday, September 3), has also led to many e-mails of endorsement for FCI coming from people in the outer islands, Australia and New Zealand.

FCI supporters Raymond Newnham and Brian Baudinet would like to encourage anybody who has a concern about the current state of affairs at CIFA or with the game in general in the Cook Islands to contact them at footballcookislands@gmail.com and work together for the betterment of the game in the Cooks.